Awesome news! Will US customers be able to order it on that date as well? I'm trying to create an account on the Tenshu site, but it only seems to have fields for Japanese addresses...

With previous editions of the blaster have US customers been able to pre-order direct from the Tenshu site on the day of release? Or do we have to wait until a US distributor like HCG gets some in stock?

If that picture is the actual model it looks like they're going with a full matte receiver. If that's the case I'd like to see a police version or at least release "police style" grips.

On the box and photo of the two blasters together, the non-screen-used blaster looks exactly like the retailer version of two versions ago. If that's true it's unfortunate, as that matte finish wasn't remotely close to anything screen accurate.

From what I've been able to gather via Google translate the only differences are the packaging will be less "presentable", the dummy bullets will be made of cheaper materials, and the "fade on" effect on the LEDS has been removed (they'll just turn on to full brightness as soon as you hit the switch instead). The actual metal and plastic pieces that make up the blaster body haven't changed in any way. I think it will be essentially identical to the Retailer Pro.

The question I have is whether or not HCG is really lowering the price on the 100 fully assembled version they'll be distributing. I've seen them contacting people who were on the waitlist for the HCG exclusive blaster and offering to convert their waitlist orders into pre-orders for this version of the blaster, but no mention that it will actually be cheaper in any way.